All great songs seem to have great producers and engineers behind them. But when the producers, engineers and others in the elite world of recording have questions... they call Tom.

Why, You Ask?

It's simple, Tom is, hands down, one of the most knowledgeable people on the planet when it comes to anything and everything audio. We won't go into his non-musical related studies, but lets just say, he could save the world.

Thankfully, he has chosen to raise the bar in guitar amplification higher than it's ever been. The TRUTONE Guitar amp will be the standard for where all amps should start. Highest quality, STUDIO GRADE COMPONENTS, hand wired with LOVE!

We’ve all seen photos of studios that own a wall of guitar tube heads. Certainly having a dozen or more amps to choose from might be ideal, but the total cost can be prohibitive for a studio owner.

After all, when top-shelf heads cost several thousand dollars each, you can buy an amp farm or a lot of recording gear. With that in mind I’ve been trying to collect very flexible recording amplifiers.

While discussing maintenance on our Sony Console with Tom Graefe, I learned that he was about to market his hand-built guitar amps. Graefe spent years working for MCI/Sony in their Florida facility. In Electrical Engineering circles he is known for his high-headroom / high signal-to-noise ratio designs. While I am very familiar with tube amp designs and features, I wanted to give the Graefe TruTone Head a deep review. I enlisted Dave Cerminara. When he’s not touring as the lead guitarist for Legs Like Tree Trunks, Dave does a lot of engineering work. Having someone who plays and records full time seemed to be the right call for a piece of gear like this. – GH

Tapo Op Magazine Reviews Graefe Designs' TruTone™ Head.

Submitted by Garrett Haines

We’ve all seen photos of studios that own a wall of guitar tube heads. Certainly having a dozen or more amps to choose from might be ideal, but the total cost can be prohibitive for a studio owner. After all, when top-shelf heads cost several thousand dollars each, you can buy an amp farm or a lot of recording gear. With that in mind I’ve been trying to collect very flexible recording amplifiers.

While discussing maintenance on our Sony Console with Tom Graefe, I learned that he was about to market his hand-built guitar amps. Graefe Designs' spent years working for MCI/Sony in their Florida facility. In Electrical Engineering circles he is known for his high-headroom / high signal-to-noise ratio designs. While I am very familiar with tube amp designs and features, I wanted to give the Graefe Designs' TruTone™ Head a deep review. I enlisted Dave Cerminara. When he’s not touring as the lead guitarist for Legs Like Tree Trunks, Dave does a lot of engineering work. Having someone who plays and records full time seemed to be the right call for a piece of gear like this.

– GH

The Review:

By Dave Cerminara

The Graefe Designs' TruTone™ is an all tube 50-watt unit available in a head or 1x12 Combo configuration. Powered by a pair of EL34s, the TruTone™ offers the front end of two classic guitar amplifiers – a Fender Twin Reverb and a Marshall JCM800, labeled ‘USA’ or ‘British Voice’. The Twin setting exhibits the same rich low end and full-bodied response as the original, with plenty of headroom before breakup and a clean top end. The Marshall or ‘British’ side rolls off some of that low end and instead presents a tighter, more defined midrange especially in higher gain scenarios. This attenuated low-end is super beneficial when pushing the amp into extreme distortion as it sits nicely above my kick and bass without having to reach for an EQ. It also sounds much more natural than simply turning the bass knob down.

Courtesy of Artisthead.com

We here at Artisthead were excited to review the beautiful, walnut front, Graefe Designs' TruTone™ head designed by the 45-year studio and gear engineering veteran and musician, Tom Graefe.

Unbelievably Clean PowerAs soon as I plugged into the Graefe Designs' TruTone™ all tube, 50-watt head and flicked the Standby switch, I noticed how quiet the signal to noise ratio was. As I dialed up the gain knob to 3 and the master to about 2, I was awed at the volume and clarity that this amp delivered, even at modest levels.

With the Bass, Middle, and Treble knobs set at noon position, the amp delivered a hearty, full tone that spoke with definition and punctuation. The Presence knob added nice shimmer without getting brittle or harsh. YES, tone controls that actually work!

Player DrivenWe used several guitars through the TruTone™, a Les Paul, Strat, Telecaster, and a few semi-hollow bodies to hear the tonal differences and response. I noticed right off the bat that this amp was very responsive to the touch and accuracy of my playing. It forced me to play with more control, which in turn made my articulation and sound cleaner. Oddly enough, this quality makes the TruTONE the perfect amp for recording and session work.

True ToneThe clean tones start to peak out at about 4 on the gain knob, giving it a wide variety of sounds familiar in many of the classic and boutique amps, while keeping it's own unique sound. I turned up the gain and the TruTone started to growl with authority. It gave out a punchy, full tone that was excellent for everything from blues to heavy rhythm as the gain was increased. It did so without losing body or sounding flabby. When turned to 10, I could play lead lines that were defined and singing.